9 Ways To Nourish Your Home Garden Soil Naturally

Everything you buy these days is full of chemicals, be it fruits, vegetables or any naturally grown plant.

If you are looking to grow fruits, vegetables in your garden and need something organic and natural to add to your soil. 

Here is a list of things you can add to your soil instead of buying fertilizer from the market:

Save your coffee and tea

Americans consume around 400 million cups of coffee every year, that leaves you with a lot of coffee grounds. Most of which end up in the trash, even if you are a tea lover you still have a lot of tea bags to deal with. Both of these can be used as a compost for your garden. They are rich in nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium. They are very acidic which makes them perfect to be dumped in the soil. The earthworms also love coffee so they can also be added to the compost.

So the next time you are brewing some coffee, save those grounds and make compost.

Banana peels

Bananas are rich in potassium and banana peel serves the same purpose. Instead of throwing them in the trash add some to your garden. You can also put it in the soil before planting any fruit plant and you are guaranteed to see better results.

Fishtank

commercial fertilizer companies use fish emulsion as a base for their fertilizer. Fish waste has an abundance of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. If you have a fish tank at home, next time you are cleaning the water, store the old water into a fridge so you can use it in the soil as a liquid fertilizer.

Eggshells

Collect some eggshells and dry them. You can either add this to your compost or to the soil directly. Though it contains less potassium and magnesium it is high in calcium. Calcium is another important nutrient needed for your soil. They can not standalone complete all requirements for the plant but can be mixed with organic compost and added to the plant.

Add some weed

Weeds are bad for your plant if growing around it but can be added to the soil. Weeds like burdock, nettles can be really beneficial .Pluck some weed, remove seeds and let them dry in the sun. Use weed preferable which is not flowered.

 Add some to your compost which will speed up the breakdown process. Make sure the roots aren’t watery and completely dry. Add them to the compost and let it degrade there. You can also add it to the soil directly after drying.

Old animal feed

Animal feed is full of nutrients. You can use expired animal feed, chicken and horse feed is preferably high in protein. Adding this to your soil ensures proper supply and maintains the quality of the soil. 

However it could also attract pests, so cover it until it is decomposed and only then add it to the soil. This is as good as any plant fertilizer that you will buy from outside. There are many plant-based organic fertilizers too available in the market that can nourish soil without any chemicals.

Ash from the fireplace

Ash is rich in nitrogen, calcium, and potassium and surprisingly can be a good fertilizer.it also enhances the alkalinity of the soil. You can use wood ash and combine it with water, keep it in a packed container and use it after a week as a liquid fertilizer. 

Find easily available material

look around you, during the spring and autumn season there is an abundance of things that you can use. Dead leaves from the plants, garden debris, apple, and other fruit peels, etc. Dig a hole and add these waste with other minerals like potassium, magnesium, lime and fill the hole, wait for a few months for a new organic fertilizer for your soil. 

Sheet mulching

Worms are friends of the soil. Sheet mulching is a process for new gardens. If you are just starting a garden you might want to try this out. All you have to do is add a layer of cardboard to kill the existing vegetation, then a thick 4-inch layer of compost. This will attract worms. This process dramatically increases the soil structure, adds more nutrients to the soil, makes it intact and fertile for longer. 

Wrap up

There are endless options when you are looking for natural fertilizers , anything from kitchen ingredients to weed. Nature has an abundance of options to fulfill your needs. So try different things and see what works for your plants. You can also mix different things up and observe the result, making gardening fun.